Zia set for power in Bangladesh

Zia was replaced as prime minister by Hasina in 1996

DHAKA, Bangladesh (CNN) -- A four party alliance led by the Bangladesh National Party of former prime minister Kaleda Zia appears set to win the country's national elections.

Though election officials say final results are expected late Tuesday, preliminary results give the BNP-led alliance 47 of the first 64 parliamentary seats to be declared.

So far only 12 seats have been won by the Bangladesh Awami League, the party headed by Bangladesh's last prime minister, Sheikh Hasina.

Hasina ended her five-year term on July 15 -- the first government in Bangladesh's history to serve a full term.

Since July, former chief justice Latifur Rahman has headed a caretaker government.

Under the country's constitution, a caretaker government must be installed before elections can be held.

Hasina's Awami League won the last election in 1996, defeating Zia's BNP.

The elections are the fourth since the return of democracy in 1990 when the two joined forces to oust military ruler Hossain Mohammad Ershad.

Violence

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The month-long election campaign was marked by widespread violence between supporters of rival parties that left 157 dead and thousands injured.

On election day itself, which saw a heavy voter turnout and was peaceful in most areas, police reported isolated violence that left two people dead and nearly 100 injured.

Voting was postponed in at least 25 polling stations because of violence.

Some 500,000 soldiers, paramilitary troops and police were deployed across the country for election day, guarding the 30,000 polling booths where men and women stood in separate lines to vote.

Phone ban

Thousands of troops were deployed across the country for Monday's poll

In an unprecedented step, access for the country's 556,000 cell phones was switched off at 6 a.m. Monday, two hours before voting started, in an effort to prevent troublemakers from organizing violence.

The voting, however, seems unlikely to end the political violence, strikes and political boycotts that have plagued this South Asian nation and sapped its economy.

The violent and bitter pre-election campaign saw both Hasina and Zia promising to reduce poverty, strengthen democracy and create more jobs.

However, the two politicians have refrained from making any commitment to prevent supporters from launching general strikes or boycotting parliament.

Political strikes cost the Muslim-majority nation at least $3 billion a year in lost production and exports.